An analysis of the poem ‘Still I Rise’ by Maya Angelou
The poem ‘Still I Rise’ by Maya Angelou is about an African-American woman who rose from being the lowest in human society to being more wealthy than most of here white oppressors. It is about the hope that she gave to her people and that they were unstoppable; ‘a black ocean, leaping and wide.’ Maya Angelou left behind the days where white people ‘trod her into the very dirt’ and has moved ‘into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear.’ She turned her oppression into peace and joy.
I think that Maya Angelou wrote this poem as a way to get back at her white persecutors, to show them that ‘like air’ she has risen further than they could ever hope for. She does this in a very arrogant way, possibly to make the white persecutors feel belittled or dejected to show that how she was treated was not okay. One quote that supports that theory is “Does my haughtiness offend you?” I believe that this is saying that “are you offended because I’m not cowering under your harsh rule?”
In the last stanza, Maya Angelou repeats ‘I Rise’ five times. The effect of that repetition is that is gives the reader a sense of determination to keep going through everyday life because we aren’t having to ‘rise’ out of the metaphorical dirt of shame that Maya Angelou had to rise out of for many years, possibly decades. It also gives the reader a sense of compassion and understanding towards darker skinned people than ourselves because the poem displays the hardships she had to go through and back then white people didn’t want black people looking at them because it was offensive for “something so disgusting to even look at them.”
Three Poetic Comparisons That Demonstrate Writing Techniques
‘Shoulders falling down like teardrops, weakened by my soulful cries.’
This quote is showing that white people back then liked to belittle black people and that Maya Angelou was so downcast that her shoulders were falling or slumping down. I believe that she chose teardrops as a comparison to show the sadness that she was displaying at the time of these horrible actions.
The significance of this quote towards the audience is to reflect the anger built up inside her back at her persecutors by using the words pervious to the quote, “Did you want to see me broken?” I think that this question is asking for a definitive opinion on what happened to her.
‘You may cut me with your eyes.’
This quote is showing how Maya Angelou’s emotions were affected by the disapproving looks from the racist white people. She chose to cut as a metaphorical comparison because it feels like somebody has stabbed you when they look at you with disgust or hatred and Maya Angelou probably had to go through this every single day as an African-American woman. This would be especially hard as racism was a big problem in America when this happened.
This metaphor is significant to the audience because it makes us look at ourselves to see if we have prejudice towards darker skinned people and makes us feel bad if we had.
‘Out of the huts of history’s shame, I rise.’
This quote is showing that even though historians have lied about the way black people’s actions and how they were treated, Maya Angelou still rose out of the chains that still confine people’s minds towards black people.
The significance of this quote to the audience is to tell them that she was lied about and she is not going to allow that, so she rose. It was also to tell them that she, Maya Angelou removed the ‘false blemishes’ from her name and rose to the top.
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